Football
Will Baltika be taken to pieces? The hunt has begun for the leaders of the sensational team
The other side of the success of Andrei Talalaev’s original team.
The main sensation of the first part of the RPL season was the performance of Baltika, which returned from the First League. Over 18 rounds, the Kaliningraders suffered only one defeat and went into the winter break in fifth place, slightly behind the top three.
It is far from certain that the Baltic team will start the spring part of the season with the same lineup. A real hunt began for the team leaders from the giants of the Russian championship. CSKA is interested in two Baltika players, and Lokomotiv is ready to take the main creative player.
Who’s already left?
Baltika’s success would not have been possible without the head coach. Andrey Talalaev joined the team during last season, in which he led it to victory in the First League. Usually, after a promotion, clubs organize a large-scale restructuring, changing almost half of the roster. Talalaev took a different path, trusting the guys with whom he fought in the second-ranking division. Every football player is still dear to Andrei Viktorovich, as he spoke about at the beginning of the year on Match TV.
— As a coach, I am against selling any of my players, because they are like children to me, maybe like younger brothers. But there are players who deserve it (moving to another level). Before the release, we discussed with the management that if they come to the players with a good offer, then we, of course, will let them go. But no more than one player from each line. Because otherwise it will destabilize the team,” the coach noted.
Three players have already left Baltika this winter. It was decided to part with two of them at the initiative of the club. Defenders Diego Luna and Amir Mohammad, who rarely appeared on the field, were released as free agents. But midfielder Sergei Pryakhin was sold to Akhmat, according to media reports, for 100 million rubles. The CSKA graduate was a main player, appeared in the starting lineup in 10 RPL matches, and in total played 18 games in various tournaments this season. Ironically, he scored the only goal against his future club, scoring in early November in a game with Akhmat (2:0).
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Pryakhin’s departure cannot be called an irreparable loss for Baltika, but this player was an important element in Talalaev’s rotation. Now the coaching staff has one less combat unit, which narrows the already limited choice. Just how highly the head coach valued the 23-year-old midfielder is illustrated by this quote from last May:
— I’ll dwell separately on Seryozha Pryakhin. There is such an indicator as participation in team goals. He has the highest in the league – 0.85. He participates in almost all scoring chances. And people want to see goals. I hope he will continue his professional development, becoming a discovery in the RPL,” Talalaev said.
Who can leave in winter?
The matter is unlikely to be limited to the loss of Pryakhin alone. Already now, the leading RPL clubs have at least three Baltika players on their radar. The departure of each of them will greatly impact the team’s potential. At the same time, the club itself is definitely not planning to organize a big sale.
— We have already said that we are against our team being dismantled. We have a close-knit team, and that’s exactly what we do. I don’t think that we will have any kind of sale or anything like that,” Ravil Izmailov, general director of the Baltic team, told Match TV.
The desire of management to retain leaders is quite understandable, but not everything depends on it. In any case, it is not easy for Baltika to compete with top Russian clubs in terms of salaries. According to the Championship, Lokomotiv is offering Kaliningrad leader Maxim Petrov a significant salary increase. Muscovites are ready to pay the midfielder up to 2.5 million rubles a month, including bonuses, and the player’s side insists on an amount of 4 million. Negotiations are now in full swing, and no one can guarantee that Petrov will remain at Baltika. In this story, the position of the club, which clearly does not want to part with the leader, is not decisive. According to journalist Ivan Karpov, Petrov’s contract has a release clause of 1 million euros – even for the economical Loko, the amount is more than acceptable.
Right midfielder Vladislav Saus is another possible loss for Baltika. The hardworking football player, ready to iron his eyebrows for 90 minutes, caught the eye of the CSKA head coach. Fabio Celestini is not averse to strengthening the right flank with the help of the 22-year-old Russian. It is possible that the Swiss sees Saus not only as an attacking player, but also as a football player capable of performing the functions of a full-back. The South-Krugovoy connection on the right edge looks promising. Baltika did not deny that CSKA has already officially approached the Kaliningraders about Saus, but for now the negotiations have been paused.
— Vladislav is now focused on Baltika. At the same time, our transfer window has not even officially opened yet. Therefore, anything is possible,” Match TV quotes the words of the player’s agent Andrei Talaev.
CSKA’s interest in Baltika players is not limited to South alone. After Igor Diveev left for Zenit, the team needs a quality replacement in the center of defense. One of the options for the army team is the leading defender of the Baltics, Kevin Andrade. The importance of the Colombian for Talalaev’s team can hardly be overestimated: the smallest number of goals conceded (7) in the first part of the season is largely due to him. The Telgram channel “Mutko Against” claims that CSKA is ready to pay 3 million euros for Andrade – in the entire history of Baltika, they have never received such money for the transfer of their player. It will be extremely difficult to retain the leader of the defense, especially since there are several other contenders for him, including the Greek PAOK.
Several more players are tasty morsels for the top RPL clubs in Baltic. Maxim Borisko is the most reliable goalkeeper in the league in the first part of the season. Sergei Varatynov is a promising central defender with a Russian passport and the largest number of playing minutes among outfield players. Back in the fall, the media wrote about the interest of several clubs in the master of strikeouts Mingiyan Beveev. With his high performance, striker Brian Khil attracts attention, with 10 goals he is in second place in the RPL scorers race.
The winter transfer window promises to be a test of strength for Baltika. It will be extremely difficult for the team to retain all the leaders and enter the spring with its usual lineup. Here a lot will depend on the club management. I don’t want Baltika to be taken to pieces, and RPL to lose a daring team ready to challenge any opponent.
Watch live broadcasts of MIR RPL matches on the Match TV and MATCH PREMIER TV channels, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.